Eighty acres, nestled on the west shore of Chapman lake, is an airport, carrying this unique motto: "God is My Co-Pilot."

Guiding hand behind the seven planes, the 120 students who have studied there, is Rev. Paul Hartford --"Flying Preacher."

You've heard of Rev. Hartford before now, but did you know that 26 graduates of "Victory Sky Pilots, Inc.," are flying in foreign countries throughout the world. All were trained right here at Warsaw.

Several of the students became fairly well-acquainted during their stay in our community, among them: George Poole and his wife, now in Quito, Ecuador; Weldon Culver, now in India; Roger Boomershine, father was one-time pastor of a Nappanee church; and Warren Krantz, formerly with the Weatherhead factory in Warsaw, now lives at Angola.

Rev. Luther Gruble, executive field secretary of the Brethren church, bases his own new Cessna at Victory Field, hops off to all parts of the United States by air, as a result gets to spend most of his time at Winona Lake.

Few local pilots fly at Victory Field, for it caters mostly to ministers and mission-folk on their way to foreign fields where the airplane is not only an asset, but a necessity.

There are three runways at Victory: N-S 3200x150; E-W 2400x150; SE-NW 2800x150. Nearly 9,000 cubic yards of dirt were moved in constructing the airfield. It is not entirely finished yet.

Under construction at present is a block building, 12 feet by 84 feet, to make three rooms each nearly 28 feet long. One room will be an office, one a pilots' lounge and the third, a small restaurant, with steaks for pilots.

Adjacent to the office, lounge and restaurant space is going up a 40x84-foot airplane hanger.

Rev. Paul does much of the work himself, in between flights to the far corners of the 48 states, talking to Youth for Christ groups and other young people's meetings. In the past few months, this busy flying apostle has been in California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York state, Kentucky, and is going this winter to Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.

In nearly every case, Rev. Hartford pilots his plane to the meetings, lands at an airport or a handy pasture.

Most youngsters feeling that the airplane is here to stay, like to listen to this old-fashion gospel preacher with the new-fangled ways.

Victory Sky Pilots is guided by a board of directors consisting of Hartford and Mrs. Hartford, Dr. Ralph Neighbor, of the Fort Wayne Gospel Tabernacle; Dr. Sidney Correll, editor of the Missionary Digest, Dayton, Ohio; Dr. Torrey Johnson, Chicago, president of the International Youth for Christ; Dr. J. G. Gay, Longview, Washington, president of the Grace Gospel Evangelistic association, Dr. John Huffman, of Cambridge Massachusetts, and dean of the Winona Lake School of Theology.

The Hartford family live in a country home, next to the airport. This airport, least known locally of the three at Warsaw, but more widely known probably of any in Indiana, may be reached by following the black-top road north from the McDonald hospital, or by going east off road 15 at the Stevens corner on the Big Chapman lake road.

Things are slacking off for the winter at Victory Field as the "Flying Preacher" prepares for his busy winter building and speaking program.

"Wrong-Way Corrigan"
Our flying sailor, Marion "Mush" Warner, rings the bell on his first solo cross-country flight by missing Muncie and hitting Portland right on the nose. What's more, he's honest enough to tell us about it. Boy, your mistake wasn't in navigation, it was in talking!

Famous Last Words
"--Watch Joe's face when I buzz him off his tractor. You'll die when you see it!" U-huh.

Warsaw Daily Times Monday Oct. 27, 1947